


Change of Heart

by Myfandomfix



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: F/M, Memory Loss, Protective Derek Hale
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:15:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22028407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Myfandomfix/pseuds/Myfandomfix
Summary: Derek Hale x ReaderReader is under Derek's protection. It'll probably get a bit darker, but the first few chapters won't be too heavy.I'll tag as the story progresses, rating will probably change as I go, depending on what direction it takes.
Relationships: Derek Hale/Reader
Comments: 1
Kudos: 16





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> You have been under Derek’s protection for the last several months, and so naturally you are always with him. His ex, who had only a year ago shown up with a 6 year old, and said that she has come to her senses and felt her son deserved to know his father, has seen you with him and is convinced you’re trying to keep him from connecting with his son. One evening you’re left alone at the loft with his son and she finds out and rushes over to confront you.

_"_ Derek, I swear we’ll be OK.” You looked behind you for backup from the tiny dinosaur coloring at the kitchen counter, “Right, Rowdy?”

“Yeah! Just go, Derek!” Rowdy shouted, oblivious to the sadness that swept over his father’s face at the use of his name. “We need popcorn!! I can take care of Y/N, don’t worry bout her!”

You could see Derek was torn. He desperately wanted to bond with his son, but he also promised Deaton he would protect you. Deaton had saved his ass more times than Derek cared to admit, and he saw him as family. So when he brought you to him he didn’t hesitate.

He let out a long sigh and conceded. “Fine, but if you hear anything at all…”

“I know, I know, get in the safe room and call you immediately.” You interrupted him and shoved him towards the door. “I have powers too, you know. I can protect him if need be.”

“I know that, but its dangerous for you to use your powers too much when we don’t know how to keep it from draining your energy.” He put a hand on your shoulder and squeezed lightly. “I’ll be 20 minutes, tops.”

“Go!” You and Rowdy shouted in unison.

Derek threw his hands up in defeat and backed out if the door, but you both shared a brief look that confirmed that if anything should happen you would get the both of you to safety.

You locked the door behind him and turned back and went into the kitchen. “Let’s see…what _is_ a T-Rex’s favorite drink anyway?” You looked in the fridge then looked over at Rowdy from over the refrigerator door. “Milk, juice, hot chocolate?”

He didn’t even look up from his coloring, “Gin martinki, please.”

It took everything in you to hold a straight face. “And where did you learn that drink?”

He was all smiles when he looked up, “Stiles!. He said it would give da-Derek an aneu…aneur…” His face scrunched up while he tried to remember the word.

“An aneurysm?” You said with a look that you hoped was serious enough.

He didn’t even notice. “That’s it!” he exclaimed cheerfully. “Can I have hot chocolate like before, Y/N?”

You smiled, completely charmed by the tiny Hale. You couldn’t keep the smile from your face while you warmed some milk and mixed it with chocolate sauce and blackberry puree you made. You spent an awful lot of time in the loft and so you started trying different recipes you found online.

Derek and his son were always good about trying anything you made. You appreciated it, but you wish Derek would be as honest as Rowdy was when he didn’t like it. Rowdy would make a face and be wonderfully over-dramatic, while Derek would eat or drink everything you handed him whether it tasted great, or like garbage with a smile on his face.

Oh that smile…

You were getting way too accustomed to his smile. When the pack comes over he is all seriousness and they loved to tease him about his need to find someone to teach him to lighten up. You liked to imagine his smiles were special, that they were because you made him happy. Maybe lessened the burden in his heart. Even if just a bit.

But you knew better. You knew Deaton told him that your safety was vital to the safety of the pack and he was afraid to scare you off.

You pushed thoughts of Derek aside and turned, setting one with colored marshmallows in front of your favorite dinosaur. “Alright, finish this up here and then you can pick the movie we’ll watch when your dad gets back”

_While Derek was checking out at the store he ran into his ex Jess, and before he could explain the entire situation she ran out and left for the loft, furious that he would trust Rowdy with you. Derek finished paying and followed shortly behind._

_Jess made it there first and used the spare key Derek gave her in case of emergency. She let herself in as quietly as possible, but was stopped in her tracks when she heard Rowdy ask you why mommy didn’t like you. She pulled out her phone ready to record you slandering her to her son. Derek ran up just behind her just in time to hear your response._

“What was that?” You had heard him, but hoped that he’d forget and move on to deciding on a film. You had a stack of 10 DVDs on the coffee table and you weren’t making any progress.

“Why doesn’t mommy like you, Y/N?” He looked confused, “I like you, you’re fun, you color with me, and you make really good hot chocolate!”

You smiled at Rowdy and eliminated one of the DVDs and pushed the stack to him. “Your mommy just doesn’t know me very well yet, that’s all.”

“She said she knows your kind. She said you want have Derek for yourself.” He took one movie off and put it in the elimination pile, before pushing it back. “I don’t believe that at all. You like me around, right?!”

“I love having you around, goober.” You tapped the edge of a DVD case on the table while you considered your next words. “You wanna know what I think about your mom?”

Rowdy nodded, eyes wide.

_Jess shot Derek a smug look, certain she was about to confirm all her suspicions._

“I know that your mom loves you very very much.” You pushed the stack back after taking one down. “And she doesn’t know me yet, so she worries. It’s perfectly natural. She loves you so much that she just couldn’t stand it if anyone would hurt you or your dad.”

He seemed to be rolling that thought around in his mind then nodded. “She’ll change her mind.”

You smiled and tilted your head to the side. “You sure about that, huh?”

“Yup! Once she sees how much you love us, she will trust you and then you can make her hot chocolate and she’ll have to like you!” He looked every bit like his father, all serious business while he looked over the last of the DVDs, before pulling out a documentary about wolves. Naturally.

For the third week in a row.

You laughed as you put back the movies that didn’t get chosen. “That would be nice, wouldn’t it?”

As you walked back and sat on the couch, Rowdy climbed up and settled down next to you. “When you marry Derek, will you still have movie nights with me?”

You were certain your mouth would have actually hit the ground were it physically possible. “Why do you think I’m going to marry your dad, Rowd?”

“You live with him. When you cook something awful he still eats it.” He paused only long enough to take a breath before rambling on, “I’ve seen him watch your butt. He does it almost as much as you watch his butt!” He screwed up his face and looked grossed out. “Grownups are so weird, but you _do_ like him, don’t you?”

You could feel the heat in your cheeks, but you were eternally grateful no one else would hear this. “Can you keep a secret for me?”

He jumped up at that and nodded so vigorously he almost flung himself off the couch.

You steadied him with one hand, charmed by his enthusiasm. “I like your daddy very much.” You looked down at your hands, “The problem is, he doesn’t like me the same way. But don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere anytime soon. We can still have movie nights.”

_Jess looked over and nearly snorted at the look of shock on Derek’s face. She smiled and patted his arm before nodding toward you and winking. She mouthed “I’ll call in the morning” and slipped out the door before slamming it closed behind her._

You nearly jumped out of your skin when you heard the door. You turned to see Derek looking deep in thought and lacking any sign of having gone to the store. “You OK?”

Derek just looked confused and repeated, “OK?”

You gestured to his empty hands. “Did something happen?” When his expression didn’t get any clearer you started to get concerned. “The popcorn?”

Derek snapped out of it and suddenly he was suspiciously all smiles. “I left it in the car. I’ll be right back.”

_Derek felt his phone vibrate on his way out and found a message from Jess waiting for him._

**Jess: Don’t wait forever to tell them how you feel. Good luck!**

_Derek jogged out to the car and back. He hesitated at the door and took a deep breath before coming inside to face his feelings instead of pushing them to the back burner._


	2. 2

Derek felt his heart warm as he watched you and Rowdy play rock, paper, scissors as he pulled the popcorn maker down from the top of the fridge. 

“One big bowl?” Derek asked as he debated how many kernels to pop. 

Rowdy looked up to you then back over to Derek, concerned. “But what will you guys eat?”

Derek bit back a smile, “Right, what was I thinking?”

Rowdy gave a relieved sigh, “Better make it three big bowls.” He looked over to you for backup.

You nodded your agreement. “He's right, popcorn is serious business, you know.” 

Derek laughed as he looked in the cabinets for bowls. “Fine, three it is.” Or…maybe two will do…he thought as he had an idea how to ease into his confession. 

He popped one big bowl for his son and one markedly smaller bowl to share. “Rowdy, get settled where you’re gonna watch from.”

Rowdy pulled two chairs over in front of the television and struggled to get his blanket draped over the top. You got up and helped secure the blanket before setting about putting the dvd in and taking your normal spot on the couch.

“Thanks, Y/n!” Rowdy climbed into the fort and Derek placed the bowl in front of his son and laughed as he watched his tiny arm snaked out and the bowl disappeared into the fort.

You hit play and settled back while Derek went to retrieve the rest of the popcorn. When he came back and sat down you saw he only had one bowl and so you stood up to go get yours, pushing aside the twinge of disappointment you felt.

Derek's hand, warm on your wrist, stopped you and you turned and lifted an eyebrow in question. “You want me grab you a drink?”

“Where are you going?” Derek gestured with the bowl toward the table. “I brought us drinks already.” You gestured at the one bowl and he continued, “I thought we'd share a bowl. Make a good influence on Rowdy and all.” He smiled, popping a piece into his mouth before raising the bowl to you and turning on the Hale charm. “Sharing is caring.”

You made a point of looking toward the tiny dino den where Rowdy could clearly not see that you two were sharing. “Uh huh…” you turned back and sat back down on the couch, confused but curious enough to play along with whatever Derek is up to. 

The second Derek sat down he scooted over so that you were close enough that you could feel his warmth seeping into your skin. You hoped he didn’t feel the shiver that ran through you, and made every attempt to maintain your poker face. 

Derek placed the bowl so that it balanced on both of your legs. “So we don't get anything on the couch.” His eyebrows drew together and a look of concern passed over his face. “You ok?” 

Say something…come on brain…make words happen…It doesn’t matter how good your poker face is if you’re going to just sit and stare at the bowl between you, or rather at where your leg lay snug and warm against his. You’ve never sat so close before. The unexpected contact had your heart racing, and if your face hadn’t given you away, your heartbeat would be easily heard by him. 

Damn wolves and they're hearing.

“Y/n?” Derek waved a hand in front of your face. “Is this ok? Do you want a bowl of your own?”

Suddenly you snapped out of your daze. “No!” If he hadn’t had a hand on the bowl you would have knocked it to the floor when you shot your hand towards the bowl to grab a piece. “Sharing is good.” Sharing is good?? Breathe…calm down…You turned toward the television and closed your eyes, trying to focus on your breathing and getting your heart rate to come down.

When you felt more back to normal you reached a hand over to the bowl and nearly jumped out of your skin when you accidentally grabbed his hand instead of popcorn. You turned and gave him a sheepish smile, “Sorry, go ahead.”

He returned your smile and shook his head and gestured for you to go first. 

You grabbed a few pieces to hold in your hand and work on and turned back to the documentary. You almost knew it word for word by now, it was Rowdy's favorite. You wondered if he somehow sensed his connection to wolves. 

It wasn’t too long into the film before you heard his soft snoring coming from his fort. Derek handed you the bowl then he stood up and grabbed the blanket and threw it over his shoulder. He bent down and picked up his son, careful not to wake him.

You put one of the chairs away and pulled the other in front of you and put your feet up on it and waited for Derek to put Rowdy in his bed. 

You switched back to the TV and just surfed the channels until he came back and sat down next to you. You offered him the remote and he just placed it on the coffee table. “Here, you wanna pick?”

He never even glanced at the TV, he just looked into your eyes, shook his head and said, “This is perfect.” 

You could have pointed out that it was on a commercial, but you weren’t ready to break his gaze just yet. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he remained silent. “Yeah, it’s good.” You started to feel heat creep into your face and looked back toward the screen. 

You both sat, watching in silence. Your hand brushed against his a couple more times as you shared the bowl. You began to think that maybe he was doing it on purpose. 

You hoped he was. 

It was as though he was waiting for you to reach for the bowl and he would reach his hand out to brush his fingers against yours. You noticed the bowl wasn’t really getting any emptier considering you had been at this for almost an hour. You decided to test your theory and you would reach your hand out and when he would too, you noticed in your peripheral vision that he wasn’t taking any popcorn.

He was just reaching out as if he were going to and then took his hand back when you moved yours back. You scooted the bowl off your leg onto the couch to the left of you, and continued feigning as though the bowl were still there. You were ready to call him out. “How's the popcorn? Good?” You tried to watch his face without making it obvious. 

“Mmhmmm, delicious.” He looked content, grinning like an idiot.

You shoved the bowl at his chest, forcing him to grab it so it didn’t fall and see that it was nearly full. “Alright, what game are you playing at, Hale?”

Derek looked nervous and laughed as he placed the popcorn on the table. “Guess, I’m busted, huh?” 

You crossed your arms and raised and eyebrow. “You think?” You couldn’t help but laugh. “I've had the popcorn over on the side through two sets of commercials now. You wanna fill me in on what you're up to?”

He turned off the TV before turning back to you. “I have to tell you, I kind of heard what you said earlier.” He must have seen the confusion on your face because he continued on, “I walked in and heard you talking to Rowdy.”

Your mind raced as you struggled to remember exactly what you had said and then it clicked. “What…um…and so what are you doing then?” You could hardly string a whole thought together. “Are you making fun of me?”

Derek made a face at that. “Y/n, have I ever once struck you as the type of person to make fun of someone?”

You sighed, “No, of course not.” When you first moved in you didn’t even think he knew how to smile, let alone make jokes or tease someone. “I'm sorry, I'm just not so good at reading people yet.” You raised your eyes to his, and waited for him to explain himself. 

“Clearly, I'm not so good at it myself.” Derek turned to face you. “I haven’t ever been good at sharing my feelings. That’s why it didn’t work out with Jess and me.” He paused for a second and a you could see the sadness wash over his face. “If I had been more up front from the beginning, Jess might have at least told me about Rowdy, instead of taking off without a word.”

You knew how much it pained him, having missed out on so much time with his son, though it didn’t occur to you until now that he also might have regrets about missing out on time with Jess too. “Do you think you would still be together now if things had been different?”

Derek laughed lightly at that and shook his head, “I doubt it, looking back I think we needed each other, we found comfort in each other. I just wish I could have understood how I felt then, so I could have avoided hurting her. It was never my intention to cause her enough pain that she thought she had to hide her pregnancy from me.”

You nodded, unsure what to say next. You had questions but this was new territory to you. You thought about the evening so far and decided just to ask the first question that came to your mind, “I don’t know any other way to ask, than to just ask straight out. Do you have feelings for me?” You stared at your hands, waiting for him to answer.

There was no hesitation. “Yes. I didn’t want to scare you off by just coming out with it, so I thought I'd ease into it.”

“So wait, was that your way of flirting with me?” You had seen him flirt to get answers from people and you knew he was charming, but this had been anything but smooth. Not that you had much of a frame of reference, but still. “If you wanted to hold my hand, you could have just asked, you know. You had already heard me, you obviously knew I have feelings for you.” 

He was silent for a beat too long so you snuck a glance up at him. He looked nervous as he slowly stretched out his left arm and traced his fingers lightly over your wrist before lacing his fingers through yours.

“Over the last couple of months, I've started to…feel things for you.” He pulled your hand closer to him and started to rub his thumb over the skin where it lay. “At first I just brushed it off as a sexual attraction since I've been alone so long and we're in such close quarters, but it didn’t take long for me to realize that it is more than that. When you smile I can’t help but smile, when you’re sad, or sick, I want to be the one to cheer you up and help you get better. I'm sorry, I’m not good at expressing myself, but I want to get to know you.” 

You reached your left hand over and placed it over your intertwined hands. “You’re doing just fine.” You hesitated slightly, “Derek, you do know me, you know everything there is to know. Before Deaton found me, I don't remember anything. He says the people that held me had wiped my memory. So I've been getting to know me, just as you have. I don't have any quirky stories, or any childhood anecdotes to share. I..”

Derek’s hand tightened around yours. “Then we will just have to make memories and stories of our own. I’m in if you are.” His face read cool and collected, but his eyes betrayed that confidence and gave away his nerves. 

You removed your hand from his and he looked crestfallen, but then you turned and held out your hand as though you were making the deal of a lifetime and said, “I'm in.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 🐺🖤 thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for the read!🐺🖤  
> I hope you enjoy!


End file.
